The desert and the mountains of the northern Emirates is most certainly the ultimate location for endurance driving and camping.

Only a few places in this world can be compared to this region with its unmatched beauty and character. The journey takes us though a wild landscape of dramatic canyons, deep gorges and rocky valleys.

The houses in these settlements have stone walls and wooden roofs partially covered with earth. The inhabitants of these mountains are rare kind of Pygmy looking dwarfs, origin unknown. They rarely come out when the visitors are present, if you are lucky you may catch a glimpse of them before they run hiding into their stone houses. After a picnic lunch in the "Grand Canyons", we visit the Friday market known for a fast selection of pottery, carpets, fresh fruits & vegetables which are locally grown and manufactured before returning to Dubai

The mountains begin in the north, forming the Musandam peninsula. From there, the Northern Hajjar (Hajjar al Gharbi) runs southeast, parallel to the coast but moving gradually further away as it goes. The central section of the Hajjar is the Jebel Akhdar (9,834 feet (2,980 m)), the highest and wildest terrain in the country. Jebel Akhdar (and the smaller Jebel Nakhl range) are bounded on the east by the low Samail Valley (which leads northeast to Muscat). East of Samail are the Eastern Hajjar (Hajjar ash Sharqi), which run east (much closer to the coast) to the fishing town of Sur, almost at the eastern point of Oman. The mountains extend for 500 km in total.

The low coastal land north and east of the Jebel Hajjar is named Al Batinah Region (the belly), and the terrain inland of the mountains is Ad Dhahirah (the back).

The mountains are an important ecoregion, the only habitat in eastern Arabia above 2,000 m elevation. The climate is cool and wet from December to March and warmer but still with occasional rain from April to September.

Flora

The mountains are rich in plant life compared to most of Arabia, including a number of endemic species. The vegetation changes with altitude, the mountains are covered with shrubland at lower elevations, growing richer and then becoming woodland, including wild olive and fig trees between 3,630 and 8,250 feet (1,100 to 2,500 m) and then higher still there are junipers. Fruit trees such as pomegranate and apricot are grown in the cooler valleys and in places there are rocky outcrops with little vegetation. The flora shows similarities with mountain areas of nearby Iran, as well as with areas along the Red Sea in the Horn of Africa. For example, the tree Ceratonia oreothauma is found here and also in Somalia.

Fauna

A number of birds are found in the mountains including Egyptian Vulture and Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus). Mammals include Mountain Gazelle (Gazella gazella) and the Arabian tahr (Arabitragus jayakari), which is endemic to the Al Hajar. Other endemic species include a number of geckos and lizards: Asaccus montanus, Asaccus platyrhynchus and a sub-species of Wadi Kharrar Rock Gecko (Pristurus gasperetti gallagheri) are found only in Oman while Musandam leaf-toed gecko (Asaccus caudivolvulus), Gallagher's Leaf-toed Gecko (Asaccus gallagheri), Oman Rock Gecko (Pristurus celirrimus), Jayakar lizard (Lacerta jayakari) and Omman's lizard (Lacerta cyanura) are found only in the Al Hajar mountains. The endangered Arabian leopard (Panthera pardus nimr) is still found in the Musandam Peninsula, according to new records of the Oman Ministry of Environment.